Garda Cyber Crime Bureau urges public to protect their devices

An Garda Síochána is launching a new awareness campaign, urging members of the public to protect their mobile devices.

The force is supporting Europol in the Pan-European Mobile Malware Awareness Campaign - from October 24th to 28th - as part of European Cyber Security Month.

They are partnering with several organisations to raise awareness of the main mobile malware threats, and how people and businesses can protect themselves.

At least 70% of Irish people use smart phones, the eqivilent of approximately 2.3 million devices, on top of the 1.7 million of us who have access to a tablet device.

We use our smart phones for internet activity more than any other Western country - while the proportion of web traffic on phones in Ireland is almost one-third higher than the European average.

"Vast amounts of our personal data are now being stored on mobile devices including financial information, personal photographs and even our location history. This information is of major interest to cybercriminals", An Garda Síochána say in a statement.

The Garda Cyber Crime Bureau is alerting people to the fact that passwords for online bank accounts may be at risk, if a mobile device is subjected to a malware attack.

Sensitive business information or transactions can also be compromised by a targeted attack on unsecured devices.

The bureau is advising users to follow a few simple steps:

Only install apps from a trusted source: If your bank or financial institution has an official app, use It

Ensure your mobile device software is up to date and remember 'Jailbreaking' or 'Rooting' a device seriously compromises its security

Make sure you have a recent Back Up of your device, as an attack may render it useless - resulting in the loss of all your contacts, personal photos and files